The Big Surprise [Magnolia/Waco Trip - Part 1]

In October, we were getting family pictures.  I was nosey as usual and asked the photographer if I could see one of the pictures.  When she showed me her camera, this is what I saw.....

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"You're going.....to Magnolia Silos"

What?!  I'm going to Magnolia? When? With who?

Dan had booked a trip. Just for the two of us. And we were leaving in a week.

Woo hoo!!!!

This was a momentous occasion for a few reasons. (1) - Dan planned the entire trip.  All I had to do was show up at the airport. (2) - And this was the first time he'd ever done something like this before!  And not for lack of trying.  It was my lack of giving up control and being ok with him booking a trip!  So finally, after almost 20 years of marriage, he just did it.

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I'd say de did ok!

And do you know what made a trip to Texas extra special? Dan and I used to live there.  As newlyweds, we moved to Ft. Worth so Dan could attend medical school.  So flying into DFW airport and looking forward to some DIVINE Tex-Mex warmed my little heart.

We flew out really early on a Wednesday, landed in Dallas, got our rental car and drove directly to Magnolia.

I wasn't sure what to expect. Would it be busy? [Well, yes, probably.] Would it be easy to find? What would parking be like? I couldn't wait.

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Right when you walk up, you see the Silo's Baking Co...which has the most delicious cupcakes ever!

And if you are like me, you imagined that there was actually something INSIDE the silos.  Nope! At least nothing for visitors to see.

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The silo's just provide a rustic backdrop to the Magnolia shops. [That's how they appear anyway...maybe the employees use them for storage? I don't know...]

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The little eating area sits just outside Silos Baking Company. [I have another blog post about the bakery coming soon...] And it faces the store...there it is....in all it's glory...MAGNOLIA!

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Here are a few more images from our the Magnolia grounds, where we spent hours roaming around, sitting, shopping, swinging, relaxing, chatting...

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Look at this bathroom door with the gooseneck light above it!  It's not often that you want to photograph a bathroom door!

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They are genius with their use of turf. It's looks just like grass but survives the crazy Texas weather. There is no shortage of places to sit and relax on the Magnolia grounds. They have their own bottled water. And food trucks for you to get a snack or meal.  My favorite one was the Silo's Baking Co. food truck.  It's an airstream with the most lovely box of flowers and sign.

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 And because I have hundreds of more pictures to share with you of the trip, I've broken them into a few different posts.  I'll leave you today with a video that Dan did of our time at Magnolia. I love it - and I'm fairly certain you will too! We picked a song by a Texas group named Caedmon's Call. It's a song that I listened to over and over when we lived in Texas almost 20 years ago.  And I think it fits the theme of our trip too.   I hope you enjoy watching!!

Come back for part 2 of my Magnolia/Waco trip in a few days.  There are a lot more great pictures to come!

jen